Rink surfaces vary in type, but are generally made out of sand or concrete. Located immediately below the rink surface is a series of chiller tubes. When the chiller tubes are activated the rink surface drops below 32.degree. Fahrenheit. If there is water on the rink surface when the chiller is activated, it as expected freezes. Chillers are necessary for ice rinks located in areas whose surrounding air temperatures are greater than 32.degree. Fahrenheit. If the air temperature surrounding a rink surface is consistently below 32.degree. F. the chillers would not be necessary.
The process of forming ice on a rink surface that is disclosed in the prior art is a very labor intensive task, generally taking approximately 100 laborer hours to perform. More specifically this process utilizes a fire hose to deliver water to the rink surface. One or more workers hold the fire hose and walk about the rink surface spreading the water while the chiller is activated. Sometimes, if the water does not evenly spread on the rink surface, a shovel or squeegee must be used to spread the water evenly. Once the rink surface is covered, the workers leave the rink surface and allow the water to freeze. After this initial application the fire hose is once again dragged about the rink surface to apply another layer of water. A squeegee and or shovel is again used to assist in the even application of the water so it does not freeze unevenly. This process is continued until a sufficiently thick layer of ice is formed on the rink surface for ice skating. The ice will normally remain in place until the chiller is turned off so this process is generally done only once a season.
The above described method causes economic problems for both ice rink operators and skaters alike. The first of which is that it is very costly to perform. A compressor is used to cool the chiller tubes and if a greater amount of water is on the surface of the rink the compressor uses more energy. When using a fire hose, the amount of water on the rink surface is enough to load the compressor to a high degree. This higher cost contributes to smaller profits for owners of ice rinks, and higher rates charged to those who wish to skate. Further the process can take up to over a week to perform, which forces ice rink owners to have less skating time available for their patrons.
The method of the prior art also has severe practical problems. The first of which is unique to sand surfaced rinks. The sand surface is often not too hard, and when the workers walk over it dragging the fire hose behind them, they leave foot prints, generally disturbing what was once an even surface. This can only be resolved by smoothing out the sand, either with shovels or some other means, which further contributes to the difficulty of the task. Once the first layer of ice is formed on a sand rink surface, or on a concrete rink surface, the two surfaces are nearly identical for purposes of further water applications. Applying the next layer of water causes problems as well. When the second layer of water is applied to the rink surface, the first layer of ice may be somewhat soft. The primary cause of this is that when the next layer of water is applied, it melts some of the underlying ice. When the workers walk over this soft ice with the fire hose, the ice may crack or form ridges, which decreases the quality of the final skating surface. This problem may be encountered every time another layer of water is applied to form the next layer of ice, which is quite frequent in this process.
Another practical problem has to do with the use of fire hoses to apply the water. Fire hoses are typically used because of their high rate of water delivery. If it were not for these high rates of water delivery the amount of time required to perform the task of forming ice on a rink surface would be substantially greater. Fire hoses are designed to sweat, or emit water, so they will not burn in a fire. This causes a very serious problem when using one to make ice. If the fire hose is left in a single position for too long when the chiller tubes are activated, the sweat from the fire hose will cause the fire hose to freeze to the existing ice surface. If the fire hose freezes to the ice surface it can be removed by either pulling it off, which may crack the ice, leave a crater in the ice, or damage the hose, or the ice could be partially melted to remove the hose, all of which are unwelcome options.
The present invention solves these and other problems with the prior art by providing an automated system, that does not require people to walk about the ice surface, while providing an even application of water to the ice. The invention further provides spray zones, which allow the system to work continuously until the ice is finished. The continuous operation allows the compressor driving the chiller tubes to operate at a steady state, as compared with the prior method which requires surges of energy every time a new layer of water is added. The benefits of the invention include that using the inventive device is substantially cheaper over time, can finish the process of forming the ice in a much shorter time, while providing an improved skating surface.
These and other advantages of the invention over the prior methods of forming ice on a rink surface will become more apparent after reading the description and the claims that follow.